My Deceived Fate
by Immortal-Krios
Summary: As she looked into the eyes of the monster, her vision blurred, and she was gone. Little did she know this attack would change her life forever. Femshep, Eventual Shrios. Takes place at the beginning of ME3. Doesn't follow the order of events in the games.
1. The Attack

Silence.

The remains of Cerberus soldiers scattered across the floor, and stench of husks alarmingly strong.

'What happened?'. Shepard whispered to the AI crouching next to her.

'They are retreating, Shepard', informed Edi.

'Well, we're not waiting around to see whatever they're running from. We have to find Garrus.'

'Of course'.

_Garrus was ordered to go into the facility to try to bring Cerberus systems down from the inside while Shepard and Edi were distracting them._

They climb the stairs to the far side of the room, stepping over the corpses of their enemies. The only sound is their armor clinking against the steel floor every footstep. They walk into a large room, desks lined up in four rows with chairs to accompany them. Computer systems lined the walls; some were destroyed due to the small explosions of the battle. Shepard walked over to a flashing data pad resting on the desk.

'Schematics for an assault on Aria. I wouldn't have thought Cerberus were so foolish.' Shepard mumbled whist downloading the information onto her Omi-tool.

'Shepard, over there. Security footage.' Edi gestured to a console that was beaten up, but still usable.

'Good, we can see where Garrus is, cut down our search time'.

'It is recommended that we search for enemies that could be nearby'.

Shepard continued flipping through the camera screens of all the rooms. 'Got him, he's in the shuttle docks of the station, shouldn't be too far from-'.

Footsteps. They immediately pull out their weapons and aim at the door across the room. The only way in, and the only way out if it was trouble. The door opens, and closes a few seconds later. No one was there. Shepard looked over to where Edi was taking cover. Edi pointed to her visor, hinting that she could see someone using a camouflage ability. A chair a couple meters away moves, and the flicker of a cloak appeared occasionally.

'Show yourself!'. Yelled Shepard, running out of cover and aiming her weapon into thin air.

Edi joined her side. Slowly, the intruder reveals themselves, hiding slightly behind the chair. A human girl, kneeling behind it. Teenager. Her long blonde hair shielding her face from view.

'E-excuse me, don't point those things at me, please!'. The girl cried.

'Who are you?'. Asked Shepard, lowering her weapon.

'My name is Diane Clark. I was visiting here with my mother when Cerberus arrived…'.

'How long has Cerberus been here?'.

'They got here a week ago. I've been hiding ever since. They got everyone!'

'You should come with us, we can get you to safety.'

'Wait, who are you?'

'We should hurry Shepard.' Edi cautioned.

'Shepard? Wow, is it true you stopped Archangel?' Diane almost squealed.

'We don't have time for this. Are you coming, or staying?' Shepard questioned while walking towards the door.

'Uh, I'm coming. Yeah, thanks.'

'Garrus, we lost contact, what happened?' Shepard questioned the turian while walking the distance across the room towards him.

'Damn Cerberus. They had an Engineer waiting in the back room over there'. He pointed to a door concealed by the shadows of a nearby wall. 'He got me while I had my guard down. Fried my comm. unit.' He blurted whilst shaking his head in disgust.

'Can you fix it, Edi?

'Yes, Shepard'. Edi held up her Omni-tool and started to make the repairs.

'All that manners is that the plan worked, and we stopped them.' Shepard informed.

'Yeah, so far. Who's that?'. Garrus gestured towards Diane.

'Survivor of the attack. She's coming with us until we can get to the Citadel.' He nodded.

'I prepped a shuttle while we were separated, we can leave whenever.'

'We need to look around first. Edi, you're with me. Garrus, stay with Diane. I'll meet you back here soon'.

'Roger that.'

They headed to the nearest door, stepping over the dead Engineer that blocked their path. A large hallway greeted them, with multiple doors on each side. Through the windows were buildings shrouded with smoke and fire, the remnants of a previous attack, with a group of Cerberus soldiers stationed in the distance. They walk into a nearby elevator and the doors close.

'Be ready, anything could be up here'. Shepard noted, as Edi nodded her head.

The elevator stops at the next floor. It leads to a large room, a mess. Containment units filled with husks lined the walls, weapons and data pads scattered all over. A dead scientist lies next to a console, her skin a pale white.

'Abnormal genetic modification. Possibly a test subject'. Edi stated while scanning the body.

'A test subject? For what?'. She asked herself.

Shepard accessed the console, four flashing panels opened with the words 'System Failure'.

The sound of containment units opening filled the air, and husk's growls accompanied them.

'You triggered a Cerberus trap'. Edi stated, looking around for nearby cover as the husks were let out.

'Get down!', Shepard yelled, simultaneously killing a husk that was running for her.

She threw a Singularity at a group of husks, now being pulled into the air. Noises are heard behind them, but it's not a husk. The dead scientist, now pulsing white light, lifted herself up into a standing position. The light flashed brighter, and a huge shockwave threw them backwards, hitting the back wall. Her long white claws scraping the ground in the process. She sent another two husks towards the soldiers. Shepard sliced them both in two with her sword, Edi's attention purely on the former scientist.

'What the hell is that?'. Shepard yelled, trying to run to another cover spot near Edi.

'It looks like those Reaper-controlled Asari from the Monastery.'

A loud screech escaped the monster, as it teleported right in front of Shepard. Before she knew it, she was grabbed and thrown with biotics across the room. She got up immediately and noticed the creature was occupied with Edi, so she took the time to finish off the remaining husks running wildly around the room. It shrieked, pulsating with blue biotics, falling to its knees as if feeling the effects of the fallen husks. Silence entered the room as it knelt there, eyes closed, hand clutched against its stomach. Edi silently regrouped with Shepard, keeping her eyes on the beast as she walked.

Several minutes passed, with it sitting motionless on the floor. Its flowing biotics and white light returned with a high pitched screech. The force within its biotics grew fiercer, creating another shockwave throughout the room, smashing the windows and throwing Shepard and Edi a fair distance once again. When they came back to their senses, the creature was gone. The scientist lay in its place instead.

* * *

'I won't bite, you know.' Garrus eyed Diane, who was sitting on the other side of the shuttle.

'Well that's a lie, look at those teeth!'. Diane grinned, crossing her arms and looking to the floor.

'I have better things to do than go eat every human I see. Besides, it's cannibal'.

'Ooh, so you _can_ eat people?'

'You don't spend much time with aliens, do you?' He questioned.

Garrus got up and walked towards the shuttle door, shaking his head. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

'What's taking them so long?' He muttered more to himself than to Diane.

Garrus spoke into the comm.

'Shepard, is everything all right?'

No response.

'Can you hear me Shepard? Edi?'

'Maybe it's your Omni-tool. If it wasn't fixed properly…'

'It's not that'. He cut her off. 'Stay here, I'm going to go find them.'

'Uh, okay!'. She said in a worried tone, fearful of being alone in that place again.

* * *

Shepard approached the scientist slowly, fiddling with her Omni-tool, while Edi examined the console that triggered the attack. The woman stirred, opening her eyes to find Shepard standing above her. Edi joined them, eyeing her cautiously.

'Oh...' The scientist managed to get out in a croaky voice. 'Who… who are you?'.

The two soldiers looked at each other, confusion evident as to what to do.

'Where's…'

'Where's who?' Shepard asked impatiently, kneeling down to the woman. She wasn't known to have good patience with humans, although she was one herself.

'Where did they go? Did they escape? Oh dear…'

'She is referring to the husks, Shepard.' Edi mentioned, suspecting the Commander's confusion.

'They're dead. You sent them out to kill us.' Shepard spat.

'No… they're not dead. They are sleeping… in the hands of our Goddesses!'. The human hollered.

Shepard's brow raised, she wasn't expecting that. It reminded her of Thane, the way he would speak to his gods and victims alike.

'What is your name?' Edi asked while pacing the room slightly.

'…Serena. '

'Shepard?' Garrus halted to a stop at the door when he saw the three of them.

'Why are you here? I told you to wait for us. Where's Diane?'

'She's alright, I told her to wait at the shuttle. Another survivor?' He glared at the scientist.

'Sort of.'

He shook his head in confusion, knowing better to not ask anything further.

'You. Turian.' Serena raised a hand, motioning for him to come to her. They all stood still for a moment, then Shepard nodded, approving that it is safe for the time being. He knelt down to Serena, but still kept his distance. 'Is it you who guards my daughter from these beasts?' She whispered.

He glanced at Shepard, who shrugged, then walked over to Edi.

'Diane? Uh, yes, I suppose.'

'Then… You must leave. Leave and never come back.'.

'So ungrateful…' Shepard noted, crossing her arms.

'No, leave. Take her with you, now. Before they-' Serena was cut off by a large explosion that came from outside the room. Through the windows they could see Cerberus troopers en route, with another white monster following the group, the same thing that Serena was in the previous battle.

'We have to go, now!' Garrus demanded, making his way towards the exit.

'Wait!' Serena motioned to Shepard, who came to her side. 'Give her this.' She held out her hand, a small bundle of envelopes clutched.

Shepard took the envelopes, and nodded. Edi and Garrus were about to step out of the room and make a dash for the shuttle. She looked back down to Serena, her eyes pure white, her skin glowed the same colour. A loud screech blurred Shepards' vision. She tried to escape, but something was holding her down. Serena, now covered in light, looked straight into Shepard's eyes. Images portrayed from them, it was hypnotizing, and all she could do was watch. _Geth. _She thought, as she saw her team fighting them in Serena's eyes. The picture changed to Saren, then a huge explosion they barely escaped. _Virmire_. The last moments of leaving Ashley behind filled her mind. A tear ran down her face, the only human she ever got close to, and she wasn't around anymore. The only reason she tolerated Kaidan was because she didn't want Ashley's death to be wasted. Otherwise, she would have taken a shot at him ages ago. She saw the Illusive Man, sitting in his usual chair overlooking a planet. _'Don't let anyone stand in your way'._ She heard him say. _'Yes sir.'_ accompanied her thoughts also. It was herself she was seeing, but she was different. Her hair was longer, and her eyes were blue with the same design as the Illusive Man's himself. Her scars from being resurrected shone bright blue, instead of red. The look in her eyes: determined, merciless, evil even.

She snapped back to reality as Serena closed her eyes, staying still for a moment, as if to recollect her thoughts. She looked over to see where her teammates were, they were nowhere to be seen. She felt pain in her left arm, looking down to see Serena's claws were imbedded, her blood easily noticed in front of the creatures white hand. _'Shepard!' _Garrus' voice echoed through her head, as once again her vision dimmed. Her leg started to ache, making her wince. She looked into the eyes of Serena who was grinning at her, and it all faded to black.

* * *

Garrus sat in the Med Bay, lights dimmed, watching Shepard's lifeless body. She had bandages in random spots of injury, minor cuts noticeable on her face, intervening with her scars. His face full of guilt, he recalled the last memories of the day. They returned to the room to see an enemy clinging to Shepard. Her, pale from the loss of blood, stared straight at the monster, not trying to escape at all. _What was she doing?_ He thought to himself, trying to figure it out. He had run to the beast, called out to her, trying to pry her away from its grip. Edi attacked it with Incinerate, stunning it, giving enough time to grab Shepard. After that he had carried her to the shuttle, as Edi kept the enemies occupied. They managed to sneak Shepard onto the Normandy without many crew members finding out about her injuries. Whoever noticed was told to keep out of the Med Bay, excluding Mordin, of course.

The door opened to Dr. Chakwas walking in, carrying a data pad. She glanced up at the turian, frowning.

'It's two in the morning, Garrus.' She stated while checking on Shepard's bandages.

'I know.' He replied bluntly. No emotion in his tone.

'Don't you think you'll need the rest? Especially when the crew finds out, and ask you and Edi questions. I assume you will have some explaining to do to Thane.'

Thane and Shepard had been very close since he joined the team for the Collector battle. She would spend all her free time with him down in Life Support. They insisted that they were just friends multiple times, though the crew always refused to believe it.

The doctor pulled off the large patch of bandages that were wrapped around the commanders' leg and disposed of them, before walking over to the desk for medical supplies. Garrus looked at the wound on her leg, shock flooding his face.

'Is that… blue blood?' He questioned quietly.

Chakwas moved over to the woman lying on the medical bed, and adopted the same dumbfounded look Garrus had.

'What on Earth…?' She mumbled to herself, grabbing another data pad. Garrus sat there quietly, knowing from past experiences to let the doctor figure it out in silence. 'Edi?' Edi's ship hologram came into view.

'Yes, Doctor?'

'Fetch Mordin please, tell him it's urgent'.

'Of course'. At that, the hologram closed.

'Was she exposed to anything in the previous mission?' She questioned the turian, not taking her eyes off the data pad in her hand.

'There weren't any hazards as far as I know.' The turian grumbled, shameful of his lack of knowledge on the matter.

'What were you fighting?'

'Cerberus, and some weird, white thing that looked like a Banshee. We've never fought one of them before'. He shrugged.

She gave him a stern look, criticizing his descriptive words in her mind. They heard the sound of the door, and the salarian doctor strolled speedily in.

'Doctor, came as soon as I could.' He said, rushing towards Shepard.

'I have some theories, but what do you think Mordin?' Chakwas leaned on the wall, waiting for his response. He stood there, hand to his mouth, thinking. _Straight to business_… thought Garrus.

'Hmm. Infection? Likely but… Poison, maybe? Must run tests, yes. Need tests, Doctor'. He muttered while taking the data pad from Chakwas' hand. 'You two go, I will stay. Run tests, you see?'.

_Heard you the first time, Mordin!_ Garrus thought to himself, looking towards the ground.

'Okay Mordin, get me if you find anything. Garrus, get some sleep.' Chakwas stated, walking out the door of the med bay. Mordin nodded at him as he got up to leave. Garrus turned the corner into the elevator. _How am I possibly going to sleep with this on my mind?_

* * *

The next morning, crew members slowly started to flood the med bay door, worried about Shepard, as she obviously didn't do her daily rounds that morning. Zaeed stood away from the group, leaning against the wall. Jack accompanied him. Garrus approached the rowdy group, trying to enter the med bay, as they were all attempting to do also. The door opened and Mordin appeared, surprised at the group standing before him. _Why don't they just stampede him to get in? _Garrus wondered, blocking out the noise.

'Garrus, come in. Have you seen Thane?' Mordin said. He pushed his abrasive thoughts aside and entered the room, the door closing behind him with small whines from the crew.

'No, I haven't, sorry'. Garrus never seemed to see Thane that much on the Normandy. He was always either with Shepard or in Life Support, and he didn't think it was necessary to barge in there without anything important to say. He walked over to Shepard, who rested there the same as she did last night. She doesn't look any worse,_ or better. _

'Garrus, good to see you. Any trouble getting in the door?' Dr. Chakwas questioned as she joined his side.

'There would have been, if Mordin wasn't there'. He chuckled. 'How is she?'

'Her readings are the same as yesterday. She hasn't changed one bit in any way. We have to change her bandages every hour. You'd think a turian got injured, I tell you.' She grinned.

'Every hour?'

'Yes, she's bleeding like there's no tomorrow, I'm afraid.' She stated, shaking her head.

The door sequence turned green, and Thane walked in with Edi.

'Ah, Thane, hoping you would come'. Mordin stated as a greeting. Thane responded with a nod.

'Hey! Why do they get let in, but not us?' One of the crew shouted as the door locked itself again.

'Should I go control them, Mordin?' Edi offered.

'Yes, would be good. Thankyou'. He turned around and approached a console near Shepard.

Thane followed him and joined Garrus. Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't acknowledge the Drell had sat next to him. Thane reached to Shepard's hand and held it in his own, closing his eyes and muttering to himself.

Jack and Zaeed had moved over to a desk near the Chef's station with another bunch of the crew. Outside of the med bay, they could see Shepard, and everyone else.

'They are totally dating!' Jack pronounced, pointing to Thane through the window, earning surrounding laughs from all the soldiers.

Thane opened his eyes, and glanced up towards the doctor. She was watching him, a soft smile on her face. He cleared his throat.

'Doctor, have you found anything? He asked eagerly. She was about to speak when Mordin rushed over to them to answer the question.

'Yes. Toxin, from a Reaperfied creature, ejects through claws. Very deadly, very rare. High chance of indoctrination. No cure, at the moment' He blurted, reading from a data pad.

'Wait, did you say indoctrination?' Garrus shifted uneasily in his seat, not wanting to hear confirmation of that statement.

'Yes, Garrus.' Chakwas said softly.

'You are saying she will be controlled by the Reapers?' Thane added to the conversation.

'Reapers are likely. But we think it would be the one who poisoned Shepard that will be able to control her'.

Garrus got up and paced the room. Guilt and worry evident on his features. The thought of Shepard being controlled scared him. _What if she attacks? Will we have to shoot her? _He huffed in anger and stormed out of the Med Bay. _I have to find Liara, maybe she can give me some answers._


	2. Serenity

A holographic light blinked in the darkened room of the CIC, illuminating the surrounding objects with green light. There were only a few crew members still working, most of them were grabbing dinner or hit the bunks early.

Liara rounded the corner quickly after she went through the door scanner. Garrus followed right behind her, looking agitated.

'Liara, I just need your help with-'

'Garrus, please! I'm trying to work.' Liara cut him off, pulling to a halt to look at him. 'Unless you would like to explain to the Admiral why Shepard isn't reporting in?' She suggested, crossing her arms.

He fell silent. After a while he shook his head. Liara took that as a victory, and continued to the flashing light. Garrus followed her in, but leant against the wall nearest to the door. She brought up a panel, and the Admiral appeared in holographic form, lighting the room up in blue.

'Liara.' The Admiral stated, pulling his hands behind his back and nodding to the asari.

'Admiral Hackett, I apologize for making you wait. I had some… issues to deal with.' She eyed Garrus, mentally criticizing him for making her late to the meeting.

'I understand, Liara. Now, where is the Commander?'

'The Commander…' Liara paused, trying to gather her words. 'The Commander is injured. She was attacked by an unknown enemy from the Cerberus base her squad was investigating, sir.'

'How severe are her injuries?' Hackett question, a hand raised to his face, thinking.

'Well… She's been sleeping for the last two weeks sir.' She fidgeted more than necessary, glancing over at Garrus to avoid the Admiral's gaze. Hackett sighed.

'Alright. Send me a full report when she's back. For the time being, head for the Citadel.'

'The Citadel?' She asked quietly, not knowing what else to say.

'You can't operate without a Commander. You can stay there until she reports back for duty.'

Liara looked hesitant, fidgeting even more now. 'Uh, yes, of course.'

'Hackett out.'

His hologram faded out, leaving them in a silence. They walked out of the room in single file, neither of them making a sound until they reached the bridge of the ship.

'The Admiral didn't seem that concerned.' Mentioned Garrus, not making eye contact.

'Of course not. I didn't tell him about the indoctrination part.' Liara replied bluntly, walking over to stand next to Joker in his pilots' chair. 'Joker, Admiral Hackett has ordered us to go to the Citadel.'

'The Citadel? What gives?' Joker inquired.

'Because of Shepard. They're practically grounding us.' Garrus bickered to the pilot.

'Why doesn't someone tell Shepard to get up? I would do anything to sleep for a whole two weeks!' He exclaimed, raising his hands to exaggerate the statement. He let out an overly dramatic sigh. 'Fine. ETA eleven hours.'

* * *

_'Shepard.' _A disembodied voice cut through the silence. She couldn't see anything, just darkness. Where am I?

_'I have waited a long time for this…'_ The same voice whispered through the shadows.

'Waited for what?' Shepard spoke, trying to make sense of what was happening. She noticed a luminescent glow on her hands, her scars glowed blue like they did in her first vision with Serena. The Illusive man swiftly appeared in front of her, ghostly in form.

_'…Citadel…' _He barely managed to get the word out, his voice sounding like a damaged transmission message. Out of nowhere he disappeared as quickly as he manifested before.

Mordin took his place in the darkness, holographic in form as well.

_'Seashells? No, not that.…'_ He mumbled, shaking his head slightly. _Seashells? This is so weird. _She watched the salarian pace the hidden floor. Another voice accompanied them, but with no visuals to identify itself.

_'No! Leave him alone!'_ It hollered, echoing in Shepard's mind.  
Some time passed as she stood motionless, noticing that Mordin and the voices faded. _I must be going crazy._

* * *

Diane rested on a large container in the Main Battery, small piles of envelopes spread out beside her. She finished reading the current letter in her hand, and placed it onto one of the piles. She pulled out another note, and started reading.

_14th September.  
The results we acquired from the captured husks are extraordinary. Their brain signals change slightly when they are given orders by the Reapers. With this knowledge, we have been able to anticipate the Reapers' actions, through these husks, beforehand. However, some of the test subjects escaped during an examination, we are currently unable to search for them, and so we will have to look to other resources for our experiments._

_Serena Clark._

Diane folded the report and placed it in a smaller pile, the opposite of the last one. She jumped at the door opening, with Garrus wandering in.

'Hey, Archangel.' She greeted him with a smile, barely looking up from the next note she was reading.

'You better not spread that around. I don't want half of Omega's mercenaries after me again.'

'It's okay. I'll call you Garrus from now on…' She retaliated, picking up another envelope. 'So, did that asari tell you what you wanted?' She glanced up from the note.

He nodded, and returned to work. He didn't want to discuss this with Diane. As if on cue, the sequence on the door turned green once again, and Thane approached Garrus, who turned his head to look at the drell.

'Can I help you, Thane?' Garrus eyed him warily. It wasn't often that he got a visit from the assassin.

'May I speak with you, Garrus?' The drell didn't wait for his response, instead he walked out of room slower than usual. Garrus closed the holographic panel he was working on and followed Thane out.

Diane got back to reading after the small interruption. Her eyes skimmed the page, landing on a short line that caught her attention.

_I have volunteered myself as a subject. This is a means to further our understanding of the reapers and Cerberus. _

She shook her head in disbelief. _Why would you do that, mother? _ The last envelope was sitting separate from the others. Diane opened it and noticed a change in hand writing. She hesitantly continued to read it.

_Our last subject, Clark, has become unstable and her actions are unpredictable. Nevertheless, we have been more successful with Serena than any of the other test subjects.  
We are hearing reports of Cerberus troopers in the compound. If they find us, I don't know how long we can hold out._

_No signature name? _Diane thought. She placed the letter with the others, and noticed writing on the back of the note she just put down.

_We sent a distress call to a nearby Alliance ship, the Normandy SR-2. Let's just hope they get here in time. _

Diane re-read the line a few times. _The Normandy? _She analyzed the information in her head. _Help came too late. My mother's death is on your hands, Shepard._

* * *

Shepard gradually opened her eyes, taking in the surroundings of where she was. _The Med Bay? _She slowly sat up in the medical bed, glancing around to see if anyone was around. Shepard noticed her clothes, a simple black T-Shirt and white shorts. _Oh, this is so not cool. _She was relatively known for her striking outfits when she wasn't wearing a uniform, and this one just didn't cut it.

She got up and walked towards the door, flinching as gleaming light watered her eyes._ What on earth…?_ Once she had regained sight, she compared the two rooms. There she noticed the light was turned off in the Med Bay. _If the light is off, how can I see as clear as day in there? _

She shook the thought away as she roamed over to Mess Sergeant Gardner's station and sat on the small table. As she rested there, she considered her options. _Should I just go to my cabin? No, I should find Garrus… Or Thane. What about Chakwas? _She stood up and advanced to the elevator, knowing that she'd better move soon or someone will spot her.  
Deciding on her destination, she punched in the controls to take her to Deck 2. _I'll speak with Joker.  
_

The elevator doors opened as she prepared herself for crew members. She scanned the room, surprised. _Traynor's not here? Thank god._ She walked at a fast pace to get to the pilot room, where she saw Joker's hands behind the chair, checking the Normandy's systems. Shepard approached the pilot, being careful to not let him notice her just yet. She stood there for a minute, considering what to say. Somehow, all of it didn't seem real. The Med Bay, the absence of the crew, and Joker. _Only one way to find out…_

'Joker.' She stated. _That's the best you could find to say? _She condemned her lack of vocabulary.

'Hey Com-' Stopping abruptly, he immediately turned and stood up, in the space of about two seconds. 'Commander? What... You're awake?' His voice almost shaky.

'Joker, I thought you had Brittle Bone Disease. I didn't know you could move so fast.' She chuckled at the look on his face.

'Yeah, well I almost broke my ribs, all of them, thanks Commander!' He joked, staring at Shepard. 'Nice clothes, did a Hanar give them to you?' He snickered.

'That's no way to greet your Commander. Besides, Hanar don't wear clothes.' She grinned and sat in the co-pilot's seat as Joker turned to go back in his.

'You should go see the doctor, you know.'

'Where is she?' Shepard asked him. _I was planning to go to Dr. Chakwas next anyway._

'Well, they're all on the Citadel at the moment, Commander.' He gestured towards the window. You could see other star ships fly past and citizens the size of ants on the walkways. _So that's where they all are._ She was relieved that she wasn't hallucinating.

'It's okay, I can go to her. Where are they on the Citadel, Joker?'

'Purgatory. They're treating this as some kind of shore leave. You would think they would invite me. But no, I'm stuck here guarding the Normandy.'

'But you wouldn't have it any other way, right?'

'That's right Commander!.'

Once she changed her clothes, Shepard headed for the airlock that gave access to the Citadel.

'See you soon, Joker.' She yelled when rounding the corner. His only response was a soft 'Yep'. Busy, probably.

* * *

As she entered into Purgatory, she cringed. _Why is this music so damn loud?_She pretended to look occupied until she was adjusted to the blaring sound. A few people recognized her and tried to make small talk, but she politely waved them off to fight an upcoming headache. Walking up a few steps she spotted Edi. She was sitting at a table with Garrus, Chakwas, and Thane. _What if they think I'm the walking dead? It wouldn't be the first time if they did, though. _As she decided to walk up to the table, a voice came from behind.

'Shepard.' She turned to see an asari, Aria T'loak.

'Aria, you're still on the Citadel?' She questioned, thinking Aria had left months ago.

'Yeah, bastards won't let me leave. Why don't you come have a drink? We haven't talked in a while.' She gestured behind her, to a small table with two soldiers accompanying it already. Shepard was glad that she was somewhat friends with Aria T'loak. It beats being her enemy.

'Sorry, I have to meet up with my crew. They still think I'm in a coma.' Shepard mentioned, nodding awkwardly.

Aria laughed. 'You are one interesting human, Shepard.' She went to return to her table.

Shepard advanced to the table and stopped in front of it. They all looked up and stared, unsure of what was going on.

'Shepard? What are you doing here? Why are you even up?' Dr. Chakwas charged over, scanning the Commander with her Omni-tool. 'How are you feeling? How long have you been awake?' The doctor showered her with questions, adding to her growing headache. She couldn't help noticing Garrus, who was glaring at her from the table, he hadn't moved an inch.

'I'm fine, Chakwas.' Thane joined her side and pulled Shepard into a hug. Chakwas folded her arms, waiting for the interruption to end.

'Are you well, Siha?' Thane asked as they separated.

'Yeah, thanks.' She smiled at the drell, but it disappeared when she glanced at Garrus. _He still hasn't moved… He looks angry, too. _

'Come, we're going back to the Normandy.' Chakwas demanded while opening her Omni-tool again, and pulling on Shepard's arm a little.

'Can't I stay a while? I mean, we don't get shore leave often, Doctor.' Shepard suggested. Defeated, Chakwas sighed and closed her Omni-tool.

'Alright, Shepard. But if you feel the slightest bit off, we're leaving.'

She returned to her glass that rested on the table. Shepard sat down with Thane, Garrus on her opposite side. He glared at her, just like he had done for the last five minutes. She tried to occupy herself with the fellow crew and block out his gaze, not willing to talk to the turian. After a few minutes he got up from his seat and walked to the exit. _What is his problem? _

They spent the rest of the night drinking and talking. Except for Shepard, who denied the drinks whenever they were offered. _I've already got a headache without that stuff. _Different crew members stopped by often. Liara, Jack, Mordin and Zaeed all came and went. Mordin attempted to drag her back to the ship like Chakwas, and even Joker managed to pry himself away from the Normandy for a few hours. _No Reapers. No Cerberus. No one trying to kill me. My crew. This is how it should be._


	3. Observations

**~::Note::~ Even though it may not look like it, this is a Shrios story! That's coming soon! ~::~**

Shepard leaned out of cover for a short second, finishing a Cerberus trooper going for the female Krogan. Her tinted green armor shined in the rays of sunlight. The pathways to the sides were shrouded with smoke from a Centurion duo, and the smell of fire and blood was almost unbearable. The sky was filled with piercing bullets as the shuttle flew by, small Cerberus ships right on its tail. A few meters away, an engineer set up a turret, then dashed back behind cover. Three more troopers fell, giving Edi time to switch cover and sabotage the turret that was occupied with Shepard.

Another group of soldiers rounded the corner on the far side of the complex, advancing to where the Krogan was being held. A third cloud of smoke erupted in front of the krogan's containment field. While trying to locate her enemies through the fog, a grenade flew at her and landed with a clink next to her. _Crap!_ She dashed out of cover and into the incoming enemies, who took her shields down in a few seconds. _Damn it!_ She reached for her sword, as she always did in dire situations. She had pried it from a dead Cerberus Phantom that almost killed her a few months ago. Now she carried it as a sign of victory.

She pierced the armor of two soldiers who she almost ran into and they dropped to the floor with a computerized gasp, due to their suits altering the wearers' voice. She found new suitable cover near the containment shield. 'We have the krogan', one of the operatives shouted into his comm. Troops swarmed the area, totaling twelve Cerberus soldiers guarding the female, and one operating the console.

'Shepard, hurry!' Mordin shrieked from inside the containment shield. His hands were speedily running over a console, trying to repair the damage to the shield that acted as a door. One soldier fell to Thane's bullet, as another was taken down by Edi's incinerate. Shepard kneeled behind the thin wall that served as her cover. _'No biotics for a while, Commander'._ She revisited her conversation with the doctor that morning. _A small singularity can't hurt, right?_ She protested in her thoughts.

She moved away from cover to get a clear view of the enemies as she attempted her biotics, a slight blue tint covered her. She concentrated harder, holding her hand up towards the group in front of her and keeping an eye on Cerberus, but no singularity came. _Come on, Come on…_ A headache threatened to overcome her, so she stopped and kneeled behind cover in front of her.

Wrex was spotted storming through the complex, rushing to get the female to safety. Shepard leant out from cover, determined to use her biotics, there were too many for just gunfire. Her biotic flare grew brighter, then faded out again. Cerberus managed to break through the defense shield that was keeping the Krogan in place as more troops grouped together. The blue haze returning, she threw a small singularity at the group, snagging only one soldier. _Are you serious!? _A heavy mech dropped from orbit and the land rumbled the floor.

'You call that biotics, Shepard?' Wrex hollered before taking out a Centurion and dodging a rocket from the Atlas.

The sound of the biotic field grew louder and it doubled its' size in seconds. All of the troopers were thrown into the air, most of them slamming against the concrete ceiling. Their cries were cut off by a huge explosion of blue light that threw everyone back a few meters. The Atlas was completely destroyed, ripped to shreds by the field.

Shepard regained her footing, trying to figure out what happened. The remains of Cerberus soldiers were gliding in the air, as well as canisters, plants, and even a large containment unit which encased a Varren, making the animal go insane. The entire place was damaged; the walls and the floor were blotched with black marks, as if they had been burnt.

Wrex, Thane and Edi glared at the Commander, not saying a word, still getting to their feet after the explosion.

'Uh… Did I do that?' Shepard pointed to all the damage surrounding the group. She was still on the ground, and she wasn't planning on getting up anytime soon.

'That kicked Cerberus where it hurts, alright.' Wrex shook his head slightly and walked over to the female Krogan and escorted her to the shuttle that was landing. 'You should do that more often.' He suggested, looking slightly over his shoulder.

Shepard noticed her rifle was gone, so she stood up and slowly paced around looking for her missing weapon. Hands on her waist, she mumbled to herself, thinking of where her assault rifle could've ended up. It wasn't anywhere. A glimmer from the sun caught her attention so she went to inspect. She knelt to pick up three pieces of metal, certain that this was what she saw in the sunlight. _My sword… _Staring at it for a few moments, she came to a conclusion that it got caught in the biotic field, and that her rifle suffered the same fate.

* * *

Shepard rested on the small lounge in her cabin, exhausted. Still, she was comparing two modules of data in both hands. The large aquarium tinted the room in blue. She noticed a school of Thessian Sunfish floated harmoniously in the water, avoiding the others that occupied the tank as well. Shepard stood up and headed towards the fish tank, pushing the button that served as a food dispenser. _There you go guys._ She thought as she watched a Khar'shan Snapping Eel swim by. _Don't die on me, too_. Shepard lived a busy life, helping hundreds of people, missions from Hackett and the whole reaper invasion. She even went grocery shopping as a favour to the chef. This, unfortunately, meant there was no time to feed any type of animal. The current fish in the aquarium were the third batch she had to buy.

A small squeak made itself into existence behind Shepard. She turned to see her hamster, its face slightly pressed against the glass wall that contained the animal. As she let the hamster out onto her desk, her Omni-tool pinged, and she accessed it. _A message this late?_ Reading the message in silence, she didn't know what to think of it.

**_Shepard,_**

**_Need to talk. Are you busy?_**

**_Garrus._**

She thought of a response and hit the reply key.

**_Sure. I'm free now._**

Not able to predict the outcome of the following conversation, she headed back to rest on the lounge. Garrus had not willingly spoken a word to her since she woke up. She could tell that he had been avoiding her every chance he got. He even removed himself from her squad for missions, saying _'I'm too busy calibrating the Normandy's guns to come with you on this one'._

The hiss of the cabin door opening filled the air. Garrus appeared, taking a few steps into the room then halting, glancing around the room. She hadn't moved from the couch since she sent her reply.

'Uh… Shepard?' Garrus called out to her, as if she wasn't there.

'So, you want to talk, but you won't come any closer than that?' Shepard felt somewhat offended by his actions. He tilted his head into her direction, but still didn't move away from the door.

'Shepard, you do know that it's pitch black in here, right?' He questioned, squinting to find her silhouette in the shadows.

'What do you mean?' She got up and approached the turian, crossing her arms. _He's obviously trying to stall._

'Look, I won't judge you for sitting in the dark or anything, but I'm turning on the lights.' He turned to a panel that contained the lighting controls for the room.

The gleaming light made her eyes burn, causing her to cover them with her hands.

'Shepard? What are you doing?' The turian placed a hand on her shoulder, concerned.

'Could you turn them down a little, please?' She mumbled through the gap between her hands. Nodding, he returned to the panel and dimmed them.

'How's that?' He eyed her as she lifted her hands away from her face. She gave him a confirming nod and wandered over to the couch to assume the same stance as she had before. He followed, taking a seat next to her.

'So, what did you wanna talk about?' She leaned back in her seat, folding her legs and interlacing her fingers.

'Well…' He started, shifting in his seat to face Shepard. 'I just want to let you know that I'm sorry for avoiding you lately. Things have been…complicated.' Her eyebrow shot up at the unexpected confession.

'Complicated?' She repeated.

'Yeah. For one, you recovering made the crew excited and reckless. And two, because of that, Diane now spends most of her time in the Main Battery. _My_ room!'

'Diane's still here? Why didn't she get off at the Citadel?'

'Something about her mother and seeking revenge, I think.' He shrugged, 'I'd like to see how she goes meeting a Krogan. She doesn't exactly have good manners with aliens.' He leaned back in his seat shaking his head.

'If she's staying, she'll meet Wrex eventually. What do you mean by "doesn't have good manners"?'

'She thinks turians eat people, Shepard.' He said bluntly, looking her straight in the eye.

'Right… Use that to your advantage.' She winked at the turian, a stubborn glint in her eyes.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them knowing what else to say. Garrus stared at the floor until his gaze settled on the space hamster as it ran back to its glass cage. He had bought that hamster for Shepard a few weeks back. She wasn't too keen on the idea of having another pet at first. _'Garrus, my fish can't even survive a couple days.'_ He remembered her saying. But she did open up to the animal after it survived much longer than expected.

'So, Garrus. No more hiding from me, okay?' She put out there blindly, to break the silence.

'Understood, Commander…'

Shepard grinned, trying to put together the next sentence that came to mind.

'Doc tells me you barely left the Med Bay when I was out.'

'Well, yeah. …Of course, you're my Commander. Uh…Thane was there a lot too, you know.' He barely stuttered as his fidgeted more than necessary. A round of small giggles came from her when she saw his expression.

The chime of the door opening broke through the laughter as Diane emerged from the elevator. She stopped short, in roughly the same place Garrus had when he entered.

'Oh, sorry Commander! I thought you were alone!' Diane chirped as she stepped back into the elevator.

'It's fine Diane, what do you need?' Shepard asked, leaning in her seat to see the woman better.

'No, it's okay, I can come back later. Bye Garrus!' And with that the elevator doors closed, and Diane was out of the scene, letting the quiet overcome the room again.

The space hamster started squeaking wildly and running around its cage out of nowhere, startling both of them. Garrus pointed to the hamster cage across the room and looked at Shepard.

'I think there's a reaper out to get your hamster, Shepard.'

* * *

When the elevator doors closed, Diane leant against the railings inside, waiting to reach the crew deck. Her mind was racing on what happened. She had gone up there to chat with Shepard, to see what she was all about. She had brief information on her. Shepard had a good side, and a bad side, but it seemed from what she heard the crew members talking about, that her bad side was more dominant. _This could be an issue._ She thought, considering her next course of action. She assumed that if Shepard was more of a goody-two-shoe person, she would have easily gained her trust in no time.

Her thoughts turned to Garrus. _I walked into the Commanders' cabin, the lights were dimmed, and they were laughing. Well, Shepard was. _She analyzed the information as the elevator doors opened. _Shepard and Garrus. Together? _She stepped outside of the elevator, scanning the room for any crew members that would still be up. An idea sprang to life in her mind; a treacherous grin crept onto her face.

'Edi, can you please tell me where Thane Krios is at the moment?' She asked the AI, looking to Edi's holographic icon that shot up.

'He is down in Engineering, Ms Clark.' She thanked the AI, and set the elevator to go down to Deck 4.

_This could get very interesting._


End file.
